---
title: waterworks — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «waterworks» in the school dictionary: A building or system that cleans water and sends it through pipes to people's homes. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# waterworks

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** building, Tears, system, waterworks, we, our · **What happens:** clean, send, turn, mean, start, cry · **To what, where:** water, pipes, waterworks, sympathy, urine, river water · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«waterworks» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [waterworks in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/waterworks.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A building or system that cleans water and sends it through pipes to people's homes.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:m1:1
# text = A building or system that cleans water and sends it through pipes to people's homes.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	building	building	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	cleans	clean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	sends	send	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	through	through	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	pipes	pipe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	_
13	to	to	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	's	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	homes	home	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clean** | present | a building or system | water |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent water=Patient |
| 2 | **send** | present | a building or system *not said here* | water |  | pipes |  | to people's homes | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent it=Theme to home=Destination |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tears; "turn on the waterworks" means to start crying, often to get sympathy.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:m2:1
# text = Tears; "turn on the waterworks" means to start crying, often to get sympathy.
1	Tears	tear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	turn	turn	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	9	csubj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
9	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	start	start	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	ccomp	_	_
12	crying	cry	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	often	often	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	conj	_	_
17	sympathy	sympathy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  |  | the waterworks |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme on waterwork=Trajectory |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Tears |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **start** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 4 | **cry** *speech: express* *not said to happen* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **get** | to-infinitive |  | sympathy |  |  |  | often *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer sympathy=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: UK, euphemism — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The body's system for making and passing urine (wee).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:m3:1
# text = The body's system for making and passing urine (wee).
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	making	make	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	passing	pass	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	conj	_	_
9	urine	urine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
10	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	wee	wee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | gerund | the body's system *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 2 | **pass** | gerund | the body's system *not said here* | urine |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme urine=Trajectory |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"trouble with the waterworks".

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:m3e:1
# text = "trouble with the waterworks".
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	trouble	trouble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The town's waterworks clean river water so we can drink it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:x1:1
# text = The town's waterworks clean river water so we can drink it.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	clean	clean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	drink	drink	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clean** | present | the town's waterworks | river water |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent water=Patient |
| 2 | **drink** | can | we | water |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We visited the old Victorian waterworks on our school trip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:x2:1
# text = We visited the old Victorian waterworks on our school trip.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	visited	visit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	Victorian	victorian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **visit** | past | We | the old Victorian waterworks |  | our school trip |  |  | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent waterwork=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **trip** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom trip «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As soon as she lost the game, she turned on the waterworks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:x3:1
# text = As soon as she lost the game, she turned on the waterworks.
1	As	as	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	_
3	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
4	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	lost	lose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | past | she | the game |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent game=Eventuality |
| 2 | **turn** | past | she |  |  | the waterworks |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme on waterwork=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Here come the waterworks; my little brother has dropped his ice cream.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:x4:1
# text = Here come the waterworks; my little brother has dropped his ice cream.
1	Here	here	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	2	advmod	_	_
2	come	come	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	dropped	drop	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
11	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
12	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	cream	cream	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | imperative | you *not said here* | the waterworks |  | here |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location waterwork=Theme |
| 2 | **drop** | present · perfect | my little brother | brother's ice cream |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cream=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad went to the doctor about his waterworks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:x5:1
# text = Grandad went to the doctor about his waterworks.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	doctor	doctor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | Grandad |  |  | the doctor |  | about Grandad's waterworks | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to doctor=Initial\_Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A new waterworks was built to supply the growing city.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waterworks:x6:1
# text = A new waterworks was built to supply the growing city.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	waterworks	waterwork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	built	build	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	supply	supply	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	growing	grow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	amod	_	_
10	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **build** | past · passive |  | a new waterworks |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: subject=Product |
| 2 | **supply** | to-infinitive |  | the growing city |  |  |  |  | vn fulfilling-13.4.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent city=Recipient |
| 3 | **grow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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